slowdive: classic or dud?

Trust me, I can talk shoegaze all day if you get me going. Be warned. ;-)

Bring on Moose.

If you're insistent on the fact, then know that a fair amount of those shoegaze characters did rock out when so inclined. Based on live experience alone, Chapterhouse, Slowdive, Ride, Lush and others could whip things up damn well. But they didn't have to, and things worked just fine regardless -- in fact, they worked spectacularly well. Hurrah!

i iz shittin' you no ?

y'all should just listen to beast of burden.

The experience of listening to that song for the first time is one I remember quite fondly: I was sitting in an electronic music studio in an empty mansion, late at night and in the middle of winter, and everything was dead quiet. I had just gotten the tape, and to be honest, wasn't expecting much (actually, what I was expecting turned out to be rather like Slowdive's earlier albums, which I heard soon after and didn't much like). So I was completely caught by surprise by what I heard: beautiful chords, hanging luminously in the air in the way that I thought that only Alan Sparhawk of Low could do. It was rich, understated, and utterly gorgeous. I won't bore you all with a play-by-play of my reaction to each new element in the song, but suffice it to say that I was continually amazed, especially when the shaker entered, about three or four minutes into the song, bringing the whole thing into time in the best possible way.

Whew!

I'm not much for Slowdive's other stuff, as I said, nor am I a big Mojave 3 fan, though Ask Me Tomorrow has a few decent songs. But I really think Pygmalion is a watershed album -- and "Rutti" is one of those moments in music where, in some unexpected synergy of skill and inspiration and who-knows-what, a group creates something of the very highest order.

-- Phil

Hard to pinpoint why I've come to prefer Slowdive. Best I can think of is that their music just sounds prettier.

I'm agnostic about Mojave 3. Haven't heard that much and have liked what I have heard, but not blown away either.

Have to agree about Pygmalian, an absolute blinder, and just so typical of Alan McGee to drop an act just when they make a masterpiece! Their other albums I can take or leave to be honest, but I find them reasonably pleasant to fall to sleep to (and that's actually a compliment.)

Anyone know what All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors are up to?

In terms of shoegazer-inspired groups that I do love of slightly more recent vintage -- Windy and Carl, happily, have established their own reputation beyond that particular label, though they'll happily confirm their out and out love for all the original greats. If you really like Slowdive, I recommend the excellent Bethany Curve. Landing are a newer group with a lot of promise. Other names coming to mind -- Study of the Lifeless, Polar, Mira, Deardarkhead, Flowchart (at least part of the time)...

x0x0

2. Someone said that threads went missing. Indeed. What's happened to my 'Stephin Merritt' (Search & Destroy) thread?

3. I like the first Slowdive LP a lot.

Brad Laner is a friendly guy to talk to, and his Electric Company stuff is flat out amazing (as is his production for bands like the astounding Furry Things). But Medicine? No, and no again.

Slowdive, f***ing loved 'em. Saw them supporting Ride in early '91, fantastic gig, could hear a word of vocals through their set, just guitars set on 'ethereal stun'. Nobody seems to have mentioned the transitional '5EP' EP, from late '93, when they stopped playing guitars and started to do more ambient/electronica stuff, very nice indeed. It all seemed to match up with what Chapterhouse were trying to do, but the 'House boys got Global Communication in to remix an album (which was great) rather than Reload (the same people) to remix a song (which was still great). I think they toured in late '93 together with Reload / GC as support. Now I'd say '93 was a better year than '94, early Seefeel records, the first Insides album, Spoonfed Hybrid etc....

Anyway, Slowdive - all their albums were great, though "Pygmalion" is the best, all the singles were great too. And to whoever mentioned Eternal, it was only second guitarist Christian who played on the one and only Eternal single on Sarah, but that's a cool semi-shoegazing single too. The first Mojave 3 album was a good late night listen but after the second one tried to hard to be Bob Dylan I gave up, I'm afraid.

Now Moose.... what a band! Their first two EPs and the first Revolver EP were the soundtrack to the best summer of my life. Happy days!

Good taste you've got there otherwise, though. ;-) Though Revolver? I don't know, they seemed fairly blah. Early Moose is worthy, however.

Aaaaanyway, I've been trying to get everything by this here Slowdive band I can get my hands on. The bloody Pygmalion record's been setting me back around 75 bucks on Ebay! But it's all worth it, 'caue it's fucking ACE!! Strange, though. I find My Bloody Valentine boring as church, so why the hell do I like their much-less-acclaimed knockoff artists so much better? Y'know: Slowdive, Ride, Bark Psychosis, Disco Inferno. Strange, strange musical tastes I got.

BEST SLOWDIVE LP: Sure, Souvlaki is pop first class, but that Pygmalion, man. She's a damn ambient MASTERPIECE. Best "ambient" "chillout" whateveryacallit album EVER! Who's with me??

Somebody do a Slowdive CD80 mix CD!! There's still loads of stuff I haven't heard yet. Morningrise?? The self-titled debut EP?? Holding Our Breath?? I wouldn't know it!!

As for why you prefer Slowdive to MBV, my guess is it's more dream pop than shoegazey? That's my reason, anyhow, since in my book Cocteaus trump MBV.

Mojave 3? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....................

How could a person go through life thinking Slowdive's production sounds 'dated'? I mean... this would mean you couldn't appreciate ANYTHING from the 80s! I pity your existance.

...you're a monster...

Utterly befuddling?

As far as I'm concerned, music was INVENTED in the 80s (or mor specifially, with Joy Division). Anything before that is just proto-music.

Once again I find myself stressing the words JOY DIVISION.

Good. You can work from there.

Some people say soul is the basis for a good taste in music, but I say it's Joy Division.

I'm guessing the traditional 60s/70s derived Beatles fodder.

If I'm right, I like Ned even more than I thought I did.

I'd love to compile those first 3 EPs on a CD

Having done this, I can assure you it's worthy. Blue Day is an incomplete compilation of these tracks.

Waaah no one reads my posts waaaah

No love for the "5EP" here? That's like the perfect mid-point between "Pygmalion" and "Souvlaki". I think I'll have to compile all the EPs together at some point, should make for a stunning collection.

Someone really cool and nice once sent my way an mp3 of Slowdive's "Souvlaki Space Station" and it just about sent me into orbit. I still continue to swoon over this track. It is very dreamy, very atmospheric, very wonderfully perfect for chilling out and letting the day melt away. The same goes for another song off the Souvlaki album, "Some Velvet Morning", which just so happens to be the song I'm listening to now.

*sighs happily* I've been looking to segue away from pure fangirlishness, you know, and actually listening to the whole of the Souvlaki album just might do the job.

*laughs* I think you might be confusing me with someone who has a broad knowledge of music, hon. I've only heard That Big Hit by Nancy Sinatra and have yet to check out anything by Lee Hazlewood, but I do have to say that earlier on I decided to do an ILE search and found out that it was a cover. Eh. I love Duran's "Watching The Detectives" and I know for damn sure it's a cover, so there's nothing wrong with counting covers here.

Eh. Methinks I should Google before mentioning Other Musical Artists, then. Because I sure as heck don't want to retreat back into that land of fangirl exclusivity (read: only listening to one musical artist for a huge block of time).

"I'll warn you straight off - today's post is dedicated to shoegazer
giants Slowdive. If you're not interested, scroll down. Waaaay down.
Why the love-in? Well, the Reading, England-based band will be the
recipients of a double-disc anthology entitled Catch The Breeze on
Sanctuary Records, out September 27 in the UK. I say "recipients of"
because no one from the band had any hand in putting this together [-Ed says Rachel had a bit of input]. Content-wise, it's a decent enough
collection of stuff from their three albums and some EPs (Full
tracklisting here) and considering how hard the non-album material and
Pygmalion are to find, it's filling a real gap in record store shelves."

I really like the Rachel Goswell album, but then I like that sort of thing; brings me be back to the stuff I was into from 12-15 or so. It's really quite pretty, even fragile. Search 'Deelay' and 'Plucked', sort a start. I can see the argument that it's eminently forgettable, though... a shame.

they are already doing another mojave 3 album, allegedly.

the halstead album, though... how does 'Driving with Bert' not completely slay you? The chorus of 'Hi-lo and In Between' as well? hm.

Does anyone else this that Spirit Or Eden by Talk Talk was way more important than any of the bands mentioned in this thread? (barring mbv ov course)

Moose are brilliant and will have to disagree with most of you on this thread again. The reason I say that is because they became better once they put away their petals, though I love that stuff as well. Moose turned into one of the best bands of the 1990’s once they mellowed out.

-Bee

OMG I AM CRYING WITH JOY NOW!

Ask them if they know whatever happened to Blind Mr. Jones. Neil & Rachel were friends of theirs, and I always wondered where/what bands they disappeared to

I have most of that Moose stuff up on slsk, same user name. I also had a request for some EP’s so Liquid Eye Makeup and Baby It’s Over have been added but only for a limited time. I also dug into my Boo Radleys singles, again because of requests. Usually only on at night, California time. That Moose news is fantastic and made my day.

I can see staying away from Slowdive related stuff, as far as questions are concerned, but have always wondered what happened to that drummer? I caught them live a few times and he was insane, always blew me away.

do you mean simon scott? dude who went on to front Inner Sleeve?

Anyway, back to Slowdive. Isn't there a double CD on Sanctuary coming out in the very near future? According to the NME review it's got their first Peel session on it, which would be nice, but probably not a lot of rarities other than that. But still, better than nothing.

I never thought he was in Mojave 3.

http://www.creation-records.com/news/index.html

- Neil was taking so much time writing and he moved to London so the rest of us were stuck in Reading frustrated. We weren’t allowed to contribute and I wanted to keep playing music and wrote songs so I moved on.

- I recently saw Nick and Christian and they said they wished they’d left when I went as I believe it all went stale. But I hold no grudges and would definitely like to see them all again. Christian has already been down to see Televise play live so hopefully the others will make it to a show.

btw, so classic.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/026-8440101-3609249

1.Slowdive
2.Avalyn 1
3.Avalyn 2
4.Morning Rise
5.Morning Rise
6.She Calls
7.Losing Today
8.Holding Our Breath
9.Golden Hair
10.Shine
11.Albatross
12.Catch The Breeze (Peel Session)
13.Song 1 (Peel Session)
14.Golden Hair (Peel Session).

is pygmalion getting reissued too?

but so far i've yet to see this confirmed.

does anyone know if these are remastered? that would be a good thing, especially for JFAD

Just For A Day:

Disc 1:
01 Spanish Air
02 Celia's Dream
03 Catch the Breeze
04 Ballad of Sister Sue
05 Erik's Song
06 Waves
07 Brighter
08 The Sadman
09 Primal

Disc 2:
01 Slowdive
02 Avalyn 1
03 Avalyn 2
04 Morningrise
05 She Calls
06 Losing Today
07 Golden Hair
08 Shine
09 Albatross
10 Catch the Breeze (Peel Session)
11 Song 1 (Peel Session)
12 Golden Hair (Peel Session)

Souvlaki:

Disc 1:
01 Alison
02 Machine Gun
03 40 Days
04 Sing
05 Here She Comes
06 Souvlaki Space Station
07 When the Sun Hits
08 Altogether
09 Melon Yellow
10 Dagger

Disc 2:
01 Some Velvet Morning
02 So Tired
03 Moussaka Chaos
04 In Mind
05 Good Day Sunshine
06 Missing You
07 Country Rain
08 In Mind (Bandulu Mix)
09 In Mind (Reload Mix)

Pygmalion:

01 Rutti
02 Crazy gor You
03 Miranda
04 Trellisaze
05 Cello
07 Visions of La
08 Blue Skied An' Clear
09 All of Us

So, assuming these are accurate, what's missing?

i think ill just keep my US Souvlaki version

here's one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BJRJAO/

all the CDs they have by slowdive:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=music-artist&field-artist=Slowdive

The early EP's absolutely obliterate "Pygmalion" though, while not quite reaching the heights of "Souvlaki", so maybe that 8.7 is too high after all.

xpost

I think you have to use your own sense of adjustment with these things. I'm in aggreement with that scaruffi person frankly (http://www.scaruffi.com/music.html) ratings are over-inflated right across the board. They could sorely do with bringing in line with reality, but it's never going to happen whilst commercial pressures exist. Ratings kinda suck anyway but they're still useful (as the most limited gauge of quality possible).

I'd of given JFAD less than 7.0, even though i still enjoy it. The bonus stuff on JFAD is great though, alot of their best non-Souvlaki work was on those early singles.

They could have put bonus tracks on the Pygmalion release though, all the demos are avaliable on your favourite p2p (as well as the Souvlaki demos) and are pretty good as far as demos go.

I'm not sure quibbling about decimals matters that much (retract what I said above ok?). I'd only consider it 'low' in an environment where everything else is absurdly exaggerated. 9 to me = exceptional, close to essential, a clearly influential & groundbreaking release (for reissues).

Didn't Clap Your Hands Say Yeah get a 9? =)

xpost

I saw Slowdive around ten times in and around Los Angeles for those first two albums. That drummer brought Just for a Day to life and was a madman on the kit. Some of my favorite B-sides are on those early EPs and are the extra traks for the first release. So I actually think JFAD is underrated because of the bonus disc. Souvlaki is right because it really is that good. I have owned Pygmalion since 2001 when I bought it at Amoeba San Francisco for cheep and never got into it. People love that album and I should find out why but that is around a 7.0 for me at the moment. Slowdive live blew me away because of their amazing drummer that you can’t really experience that aspect on record but live he made you pay attention.

xpost

Was the date Monday April 11, 1994? Yes I was at that show, and was also at the raggedy place that was upstairs (maybe) can't find a stub for this show but was the only show I saw at this place. If I remember right it was off Hollywood Blvd, maybe Sunset and was a great show as well but bands shouldn’t have played this place but they did.

Anyone want to buy my copy of Souvlaki + Blue Day in 2CD set? I could then happily get the other 2 reissues.

April 24 - Teenage Fanclub (Fairfax High School)
April 25 – The Charlatans (Palace)
April 28 - The Sugarcubes (Palace)
May 9 – Catherine Wheel (Whisky A Go Go)
May 18 – Blur (Palace)
May 28 – Ride with Slowdive (Coach House)
May 29 – Ride with Slowdive (Palace)
May 30 – Ride with Pale Saints (Palace)
June 2 – Pale Saints (Whisky A Go Go)

Not to forget the Cure twice at the end of June that year.

Time of my life…

I don’t make that many shows anymore, since moving back to Los Angeles, because 1) in San Francisco they were right outside my door and didn’t have to drive miles and miles. 2) Ticketmaster can go to HELL!

*I know ILM hates OCS but they were a great live band and became much better as the years went on. Everything doesn’t need to be new and inventive all the time, stealing from the best is OK every once in awhile.

I don’t make that many shows anymore, since moving back to Los Angeles, because 1) in San Francisco they were right outside my door and didn’t have to drive miles and miles. 2) Ticketmaster can go to HELL!

In order -- remember hearing about it, missed it, saw it (but it was the Wiltern!), missed it, saw it (I remember Damon ambling out on stage with the Moz quiff and everyone going "MORRISSEY!"), missed it, saw it, saw it, missed it (so annoyingly because the Red House Painters opened!).

In there, though, I did see the Wedding Present/Poster Children, Verlaines/Yo La Tengo, and Soundgarden/Swervedriver/Monster Magnet.

i'm not sure you'd get much out of a guitar tab though :)

"MOJAVE 3: DUD OR CLASSIC DUD?"

is there such thing as changing a posts title?

OTM. Maybe it's all in my jead but I do think the sound has been impoved nicely, adding texture here and there, and I'm glad to have 'So Tired' and 'In Mind', but jeez talk about awful packaging. But that's the original cover afraid (the superior black one was for the susbequent US domestic release).

is there such thing as changing a posts title?

but all of their albums are great. the last one will be treasured by many someday. it is hard to convince people of this. i think i will go listen to it now. the first song is so 'let it flow'.

they do need to stop making solo albums.

mojave 3 albums are great. i listen to them a lot more than slowdive, who i adored. do i really need this re-issue business? i have all the albums, the early EPs on vinyl, and some mega-track thing called 'staring at the sun' or somesuch i snagged from slsk...

Slowdive have always been among my all time favourites, very influential for me, and I still absolutely love their music.

Souvlaki is a favorite for a lot of people, because it's them starting to be a *little* less full-on shoegaze, but not entirely. Pygmalion is kinda the art favorite, their Durutti Column tribute to a large extent.

Who do Slowdive most sound like? Well, jeez, in a way they ARE the ultimate shoegaze band! (MBV are in their own universe but obviously none of the other gaze bands could exist without them as an example.) As friend Stripey once put it to me years ago, "They'll be the band that most people will claim as an influence because they're both so atmospheric and so accessible." And she was right.

So basically -- mixed male/female vocals, often singing together, sometimes separately, LOTS of digital delay and zoned-out ambience, total goth fetish as well (early eighties Cure basslines in particular). Again, though, this is the earliest stuff in particular.

One thing that a lot of people forget about the band -- they could be LOUD. Saw them three times and while, again, they didn't achieve MBV levels of volume, they were definitely trying to really crank it up.

Whereas Lush and Ride, who are the first generation (i.e. not MBV) bands who I think of as utterly definitive of the genre seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Maybe that's because of the derivative tails on the end of their shoegazing careers (Britpop, Oasis, etc.) Or maybe because Slowdive hit the cliches the heaviest, so those looking for those cliches will be made happiest by them.

http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/19/1032019.jpg

this is coming out July 29, 2008 on Brushfire Records.

d/l now however.

I just got a ticket to see him in August; didn't know that there was a new record, thought I should have guessed.

What's Brushfire Records? why did he leave 4AD?

Oh cool, I'll definitely check this out.

but the last solo record was a drag. and the last mojave 3 wasn't so great either.

about 2/3 of his first solo record was really outstanding, esp. 'Driving With Bert' which had a trumpet solo.

I loved that first solo album

I finally have SOUVLAKI. After listening to it in its entirety and then listening to LOVELESS... I've realzed that these two records are so different that they shouldn't really be compared. While the vocals are similar, the sounds from the instruments on SOUVLAKI are so much lighter (a la the Cocteau Twins). This really sounds like something you could sleep to, or you could have it gently wake you up in the morning. My favorite song is easily "Sing," which is probably better than anything on LOVELESS (fyi, Loveless is the best LP I've ever heard). It's definitely Sexier than anything on it. I immediately see a string of darkly-lit, slow-mo erotic images whenever I listen to it. Alas, the song after it is a let down.

am i crazy for thinking pygmalion is really, really boring?

Out.

(Just think of it as a Durutti tribute. Hell, they *call* the first song "Rutti.")

No, I don't think you're crazy, electricsound. There's a reason why I haven't played that since it came out.

pygmalion is super dull, as is the band that wasted rachels beautiful voice (mojave 3)!!

I guess this means I should start listening to the Durutti Column.

you don't need a reason to listen to DC

I haven't been listening to SOUVLAKI very much since then. LOVELESS still sounds so crazy next to it.

pygmalion is super dull, as is the band that wasted rachels beautiful voice (mojave 3)!!

Pygmalion is the only Slowdive album I listen to these days. Go figure.

Spoon And Rafter I like much more now, but that first M3 album is still my #1 choice. I wish that Rachel's solo album had some of that mystery X factor in it.

i have never been able to get into Pygmalion despite the love that it seems to get.

My choice for Mojave 3 is Out Of Tune but that also seems to be a unpopular choice.

loved Neil's first solo album (second ?) but hated Rachel's solo album.

I hated Pygmalion when it came out, then fell in love with it before ultimately not really caring much. "Rutti" is pure classic though

Thinking about it, the time would be exactly right for a Slowdive one-off reunion.

One thing I've found about Slowdive is that the time of day that you listen to their albums can strongly affect your perception of them. Here are the times you should listen to them:

"Just for a Day" - Listen to around dawn
"Souvlaki" - listen to at 1:00am
"Pygmalion" listen to during a hot, windless afternoon in a desert

If you listen at different times, they simply do not work, and can even sound horrible.

I can't see myself listening to "Just for a Day" over breakfast

not for breakfast, that's too late. it's the darkness just before dawn.

brushfire records is actually jack johnson's label. he has surprisingly signed really good people so far (well, halstead and rogue wave, don't know who else).

I think they were very good initially because they were unselfconscious. i.e. they were middle-class MBV fans making music for middle-class MBV fans. As soon as they became aware that they had to adopt some kind of stance, and deny what they fundamentally were, then they lost it.

2008 so needed a Pygmalion backlash.

Never set your sights too high when it comes to shoegazer bands.

One thing I've found about Slowdive is that the time of day that you listen to their albums can strongly affect your perception of them. Here are the times you should listen to them:

"Just for a Day" - Listen to around dawn
"Souvlaki" - listen to at 1:00am
"Pygmalion" listen to during a hot, windless afternoon in a desert

If you listen at different times, they simply do not work, and can even sound horrible.

-- res, Thursday, August 14, 2008 9:14 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

As much as I want to disagree with this, especially the not work and even sound horrible part, I would be lying if the best time I heard Just for a Day wasn't on a brisk spring morning at 6:30 AM, and Souvlaki at 1:30 AM in a dark basement, and, well I was in an actual desert on a hot, windless afternoon about 2 months ago, but I didn't think to bring Pygmalion.

Slowdive's albums are like ripening bananas. JFaD is the album equivalent of a banana with a slight greenish hue: firm, flavour's a bit bland and off, but otherwise solid and eatable. Good, but should have waited a day or two. Souvlaki is just perfection: perfect colour, texture, feel, taste - definitively ripe. Pygmalion tastes just fine despite what anyone says about the admittedly present brown spots (but they're not really that noticeable anyways), the heightened texture and softness of it aren't necessarily worse, but not as good as it was in it's prime. It's also excellent for baking.

Well we have a "worst metaphor of the day" by 11:30 am now!

I'll support him, but only because he didn't shoot me down. :)

As for mojave 3, Not entirely familiar with their whole body of work, but I think it's probably closer to mangos. (even worse by 11:39)

As much as I want to disagree with this, especially the not work and even sound horrible part,

That's sort of an exaggeration, but really, if you listen to "Souvlaki" when it's bright and sunny outside, it does not compute at all. It just works so much better in the dark.

Out of the blue at work Friday I got this urge to dig up their first couple of (non-album) 12" singles. I guess in the U.S. these were compiled nicely on Blue Day later, but I only had them on vinyl. So I'm having fun with this stuff now. I'd love it if anyone would say something about this band because I was thinking about them pretty intensely on Friday.

Also a really interesting fact I learned was that the tracks on their first 12" were only part of their early demos. I guess this wouldn't be too extraordinary except that I had that blue flexi disc of a couple other tracks from that and they were extremely boring. "Beach Song" or whatever it was? I wonder if that flexi is worth anything now. I'll sell it if anyone wants it...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hh3smhvp8L0/S5DPI7TFeyI/AAAAAAAAADo/2Sx7pm2rl9s/s1600-h/slowdive2_Page_2.jpg

The Shining Breeze: The Slowdive Anthology (2 CD set) will be released on May 4, 2010 on Cherry Red Records.

Here’s the tracklist:

DISC ONE

Slowdive (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Avalyn I (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Morningrise (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
She Calls (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
Catch The Breeze (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Golden Hair (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Shine (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Spanish Air (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Erik's Song (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Waves (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Primal (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Alison (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
So Tired (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
Moussaka Chaos (Outside Your Room EP) May-93

DISC TWO

Souvlaki Space Station (Souvlaki) May-93
Machine Gun (Souvlaki) May-93
Sing (Souvlaki) May-93
Here She Comes (Souvlaki) May-93
Altogether (Souvlaki) May-93
Dagger (Souvlaki) May-93
Some Velvet Morning (Souvlakibonus disc) May-93
In Mind (5 EP) Nov-93
Good Day Sunshine (5 EP) Nov-93
Country Rain (5 EP) Nov-93
Rutti (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Miranda (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Trellisaze (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Cello (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Visions of La (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Blue Skied an' Clear (Pygmalion) Feb-95
All of Us (Pygmalion) Feb-95

lets try the cover again:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hh3smhvp8L0/S5DPI7TFeyI/AAAAAAAAADo/2Sx7pm2rl9s/s400/slowdive2_Page_2.jpg

:D

What, there was something wrong with the Catch the Breeze anthology?

fair q

this one has a few more tracks and has removed a couple of others.. i hope it hasn't been "remastered"

SONGS EXCLUSIVE TO THE SHINING BREEZE:

• She Calls
• Erik's Song
• Waves
• Primal
• Moussaka Chaos
• Altogether
• Some Velvet Morning
• In Mind
• Good Day Sunshine
• Miranda
• Trellisaze
• Cello

• Albatross
• When the Sun Hits
• 40 Days
• Melon Yellow
• Blue Skied an' Clear
• Crazy for You
• J's Heaven
• Vision of La

Their 3 albums aren't all that hard to find, seems like it would have been better to complile non LP stuff onto a cd instead?

That cover sucks, too.

AWESOME SLOWDIVE SONGS THAT AREN'T ON EITHER ONE, PLUS ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A TON OF UNRELEASED SLOWDIVE STUFF OUT THERE, LIKE SOME UNRELEASED ALBUM CALLED I SAW THE SUN AND A SOUND TRACK TO I AM THE ELEPHANT U R THE MOUSE AND ALL THESE PYGMALION DEMOS AND WHATNOT:
*- Avalyn II
*- Celia's Dream
*- Ballad of Sister Sue

Those are some of their best songs. :(

Cherry Red is great! I have their Moose and Brilliant Corners (band) reissues and they're wonderful.

Given that I tracked down the discography a decade ago, I don't think I'll need this. But I'm deeply perplexed why any Slowdive anthology would omit "When the Sun Hits", which has been a favorite of mine, (as well as others here) for 17 years now...

When The Sun Hits is in my unwritten Top Songs Ever, yeah really.

don't they have a cover of "Sweet Child O'Mine too"?

don't see the point of this comp and teh cover makes it look like some cheapo Cleopatra collection.

Anyway, I already have all of this (thank you 'Blue Day') - what I really need is a cleaned up release of 'I Saw the Sun' (and a reunion tour)

they could have at least changed the name to something that wasn't so similar

couldn't they have just slapped all 3 of their albums + b-sides on 3 discs? sheesh

"the shining breeze" as a title is rather self-parodying

I find it hard to believe how quickly the 3 reissues of Slowdive's studio albums seem to have gone out of print. I bought them a year ago for £5 a piece now they're going for silly money.

couldn't they have just slapped all 3 of their albums + b-sides on 3 discs? sheesh

― hobbes, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 3:17 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Well they could of, but that would have been a good idea.

http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/4099469.Vacuum_cleaner_brings_cat_home/

when this gets revived I always hope to find an announcement of a reunion show...

xp - poor Rachel - seems her worst nightmare came true for a lil while:
http://www.souvlakispacestation.com/archives/131

"Slowdive are quite wonderful (better than MBV, no"

would have stopped right before the ", no" part

i'm always so impressed by how good my old u.s. version of souvlaki sounds. the 90's version with bonus tracks "not available on import". its loud and its the good kind of loud. i'm cranking it now. no need to remaster this album ever. just copy this copy.

this from 2008 is so not on the money:

"While the vocals are similar, the sounds from the instruments on SOUVLAKI are so much lighter (a la the Cocteau Twins). This really sounds like something you could sleep to, or you could have it gently wake you up in the morning."

you really need to hear it loud. it's definitely not light when loud. it's a powerful record.

"just for a day" is an example of a record that needs to be played loud. there's enormous atmosphere to the songs, but no density. play it loud and you can lose yourself in it, otherwise it plays through without you noticing a thing.

They always sounded near crushing live -- not Swans level say but it was that feeling of forced immersion, but you were happy to drown.

Whenever I see some massive stacks of clouds glowing above in sunset rays, Slowdive is my mental soundtrack.

AWESOME SLOWDIVE SONGS THAT AREN'T ON EITHER ONE, PLUS ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE A TON OF UNRELEASED SLOWDIVE STUFF OUT THERE, LIKE SOME UNRELEASED ALBUM CALLED I SAW THE SUN AND A SOUND TRACK TO I AM THE ELEPHANT U R THE MOUSE AND ALL THESE PYGMALION DEMOS AND WHATNOT:
*- Avalyn II
*- Celia's Dream
*- Ballad of Sister Sue

― Mr. Snrub, lunes 3 de mayo de 2010 22:12 (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yessss avalyn ii. i only get into slowdive because araki stuck that in the opening credits to nowhere (and when the sun hits elsewhere, closing credits maybe?) never got into pygmalion. i played i saw the sun for a while but don't have it anymore.

when are these guys do the right thing and do a cash-in Souvlaki reunion tour?

i imagine that would depend quite a bit on rachel goswell's health issues

The abrupt switch from the chorus into the second verse in "Allison" is so cool. You don't even realize how many layers of guitars built up until the switch.. It's like waking up from a dream within a dream.

Please happen!!

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2012/08/slowdive_reunio.html

awwww yeah! make it happen!

Please don't.

Horrible idea.

always wanted to see them live, so i'm in favor even if it's a bad idea

Bad idea?

A terrible idea. I've been saying as much here and elsewhere just now.

Depends very much on Rachel's health I would have thought.

what's wrong with her?

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/img/metal/slowdive.jpg

also, i never noticed how attractive she was

She had a rare inner ear infection but that was a few years ago now, no idea how she is these days

also, I always did

I hope Rachel remains healthy but does anyone have a realistic reason for not wanting the reunion? There certainly isn't one in Ned's link. I respect your opinion but if it had sway for any reason on whether they actually did reunite for some shows (is that all we're talking about or new material too?) than it would be incredibly unfair for some of us younger listeners that would love to have the chance to see them live.

not sure what your reasoning is, Ned - are you against reunions because they spoil the perfect memories?

I'm starting to really hate this sense of entitlement, that people feel like they should have the chance to see a band live that they missed the first time round, as if the band somehow *owes* them a performance. It's one thing if a band really want another go, and a chance to revisit old ground - but I don't get the feeling from Neil that he wants that. "We're not going to be allowed not to reform" is not a good enough reason for them to do it. But I guess if his circles are getting smaller and smaller (and his records come out on bittier record labels) then it might be a financial decision.

My memories are that Slowdive weren't actually very good live, so it's not as if I don't want them pissing all over treasured memories or anything. I just don't see why they *should* and I am starting to have a lot more respect for bands that say "nah, we're done with that" and don't go back.

Well I did see Slowdive, several times, and I remember their shows being absolutely stunning. So I don't have any sense of entitlement, I would simply like to experience that joy and elation again.

I just feel like, if they don't want to, it should be their choice, not yours.

Well, of course it will. That "we won't be allowed not to" sounds like it was said with a wry smile on his face. No-one is going to be holding a gun to their heads. Even if they get offered silly money to do it, it's up to them.

Well, I'm not personally dragging Neil back to Slowdive and I don't feel like I deserve to see them live, and I can't speak for anyone that may be pushing him in that direction. I didn't say they "should" but if they are anyway, but I would be upset if someone talked them out of it. Unless doing it actually harms them in some way.

WCC you may be reading into "We're not going to be allowed not to reform" a bit. It seems more likely that it is their choice rather than some crazy scenario where they are "forced" into it.

***delete ", but" from that sentence***

I heard someone was going to murder their families unless they took the show on the road.

I heard a bunch of people in their 20s sent Pam Berry death threats unless she finally played live with Black Tambourine. She certainly didn't want to for years.

yeah, i mean jesus, it's really skewed thinking to imagine fans going along to a show feeling a sense of "entitlement", like the band is finally paying off a debt. maybe they're just happy and grateful to hear the songs they love performed live.

The worst thing that can happen is that a lot of people spend some good money to see a half-hearted performance. It may diminish their legacy/magic temporarily if they totally suck for some reason, but everyone who attends would be more likely to be super super grateful to have the opportunity to have seen them anyway.

Musing on seeing the Halstead show in Brooklyn. Anyone know if he'll have a band w/him?

Demanding they don't go on tour because of a suspicion of their motives is not that much less born of self entitlement as demanding they go on tour because you would like to see them?

I think they're grown ups who can choose for themselves what they want to do (shit, maybe they just want to make a bunch of money, but is that a reason to stop them either?)

but ... my memories!

For the life of me I could swear I once saw Slowdive open up for someone more or less unrelated, like Belly or Luna. Is that possible?

Hmm, guess not, Looks like they toured the US with Cranes, Catherine Wheel ...

yep, saw that Slowdive/Cranes double header at the Grand in London, an inspired pairing.

Well, also reading stuff into the fact that he doesn't play Slowdive material and refuses requests, etc.

Also, "market forces" vs "what band members really want to do" is not always an unloaded choice.

But, y'know, who am I to stand in the way of a bunch of people reliving their youth.

It's not about reliving one's youth, it's about hearing the music live again! Because it's good!

I mean, the Velvets really sucked when I saw them in '93, but I've never once wished they hadn't done it or I hadn't seen them.

I was born in 1988, I'm reliving nothing.

hahahaha great revive

"please don't"

Slowdive is head and shoulders above almost all other shoegazer bands, though maybe just a head above medicine, and a head and half a shoulder above MBV.

With that, this thread revive is officially not Ned friendly.

well, i'd say that MBV is a good torso and genitals above the next best shoegaze band.

Then Ride be just below the sack?

OK, you and sense just clearly parted company a long time ago.

x-post

I went through a huge shoegaze phase, and discovered that most of these jokers are terrible-- Ride included.

You know who I'm gonna ask first, when it come to an opinion on what the best shoegaze bands are?

Someone who ~doesn't like shoegaze~

Yup, that'll work.

was anyone here saying they were entitled to a slowdive reunion, or any other reunion? has anyone actually ever felt entitled to that kind of thing? is there a possible scenario where slowdive are in any way being forced to do this, or is it more likely that they want some $$? and is anyone here being forced to go watch them cash in on nostalgia for a few shows, other than professional music critics who are tasked to attend by their bosses?

just let them reunite and suck! jeezus

for 2 years i sat there and pretended shit like pale saints, ride, swervedriver, and chapterhouse wasn't total crap, but eventually i saw the light. xp

just let them reunite and suck! jeezus

Hey, stop FORCING Slowdive to reunite, already!

i work hard, i pay my taxes, i love my family ... i deserve a slowdive reunion!

http://i46.tinypic.com/1zo9kdi.jpg

"alright, listen here Neil Halstead. you're going to play Catch the Breeze, you're going to play more transcendentally than you've ever played, and you're going to like it, you hear me??"

^would see that show

play machine gun or you get a machine gun in your face, halstead.

just let them reunite and suck! jeezus

There would be other kinds of protests as a result.

hahahaha

well it is true that i haven't considered the second-order consequences of a reunion

Neighbors say the masked gunman was a normal guy that just loved his family. "Times are tough, but sometimes when you can't get the guitar bliss you feel like you earned, especially in this economy, well I guess some people just snap"

Obama stole my grandma's Slowdive

> shit like pale saints

steady...

float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, shit like pale saints..

See this is why I'm wary of the taste of people who say their favourite showgaze band / the only good shoegaze band is Slowdive.

And let me reiterate, I don't dislike Slowdive! I own several of their albums!

It's just that when people who don't really like shoegaze slag off shoegaze, all those negative qualities they use to slag it off - droney, boring, repetitive, mindless prettiness, sexless, middle class. Slowdive are, like, the utter epitome of those qualities. They are quite quintessential of a view of shoegaze that 1) really quite annoys me and 2) doesn't represent anything of ~what I loved~ about shoegaze.

So when someone tells me that Slowdive were the best shoegaze band, I just think "you are looking for a very different thing in music than I am."

Also, if you are over the age of 15 and ~pretend to like~ any kind of music, you really are a tosser.

Yeah, but who here's doing that?

hmmm I'm way over 15 and I think to this day Slowdive is still, as back then, my favorite "shoegaze" band. I don't see how they epitomize "droney, boring, repetitive, mindless prettiness, sexless, middle class" - for me Souvlaki is the opposite of all that.

for 2 years i sat there and pretended shit like pale saints, ride, swervedriver, and chapterhouse wasn't total crap, but eventually i saw the light. xp

― Poliopolice, Thursday, August 30, 2012 8:43 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I took that to mean "tried to convince myself" which is fairly different I think. tbf I do not claim to have a window into the soul of Poliopolice

When I see people use a word - like "pretending" - I tend to think that they mean what they say, or they would have phrased it differently.

But I have this argument every time we talk about Shoegaze. That if someone thinks that Slowdive are the ~pinnacle of shoegaze~ and bands like Pale Saints are "crap" - that person is clearly looking for something so different in music than what I loved about shoegaze that it would be pointless for me to use their tastes as reference for anything meaningful to me.

You mean you find Pales Saints are any less pretty, sexless and middle class? hmmmm...

They are less *mindlessly* pretty - i.e. the prettiness in their music has a purpose, and is usually used as a counterpoint to psychedelic noise of confusion. They are definitely less sexless (rowr) and middle class I don't know about, but they were from Leeds instead of the Thames Valley so the Northern perspective was more interesting than yet another OxfordReadingLondon band.

Yes, yes, I'm being facetious, but their music had a scrappy spikiness amidst all the prettiness that I found texturally just much more interesting.

Also Spoonfed Hybrid >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mojave 3.

Glad to see someone defending Pale Saints, a great band. I love the little motto on their "Flesh balloon" EP which read "Scene but not herd". So many great aspects to them - their roots in C86 indie (their first demo was reviewed in the short lived indie "Underground" mag from 87), the way they merged dreamy with spiky, the layers of sounds, Ian Masters' slightly skewed basslines, and Spoonfed Hybrid is one of my favourite albums ever. As shoegazing was at its height in 91 they really weren't there, their Northern slant meant they weren't seen to be with the Ride / Slowdive / Chapterhouse crowd. Certainly the inkies at the time never mentioned them in the same breath as the other "Scene that celebrates itself" bands.

Oh and pinnacle of shoegaze = Moose's first two EPs, imho. Hard to believe that 20 years after the fact people are still arguing about what shoegazing is / was.

Pale Saints toured with and had intra-band links to Lush! Hence their STCI connection. But Lush are another band who have been unfortunately and unfairly pushed down the shoegaze canon.

As shoegazing was at its height in 91 they really weren't there, their Northern slant meant they weren't seen to be with the Ride / Slowdive / Chapterhouse crowd. Certainly the inkies at the time never mentioned them in the same breath as the other "Scene that celebrates itself" bands

The way I recall it, it was Ride - Ride EP, Lush - Mad Love EP, and Pale Saints - The Comforts of Madness all released in quick succession at the start of 1990 and shown on Snub TV and those bands were often talked about together. The rest came later.

Don't you think Poliopolice was using the word "pretending" in hindsight? Like now that he realized he is very over those bands and his change of heart makes him feel like he was fooling himself the whole time. Just a guess. I mean when I hear people say pretend in that context they generally aren't letting you in to some conscious poseuring they'd participated in at some point.

yeah, you're taking it too literally. by the time i was into this stuff, the whole shoegaze thing was over by nearly a decade-- therefore, not en vogue at all. when i said 'pretend', it's not that i was trying to attach myself to a scene (because there was none by then), but that i was trying hard to appreciate that which was described to me as great examples of that genre after having gotten heavily into MBV and Medicine first. for that reason, i wanted to like Ride and Pale Saints so much, until i discovered, after much effort and money wasted, that there was really not much depth or staying power to most of them; they were just bands whose names were repeated, perhaps because there simply weren't that many notable names in the genre to begin with.

so does this mean, as you charge, that i don't like really shoegaze because i think the vast majority of bands in that genre were kind of bad, and thus i'm a shoegaze poseur and have no credibility? i'm willing to concede that some people might think that, but as least i can honestly say that i spent an extended period exploring the genre thoroughly, and drew my own conclusion that most of it really isn't that good. that's just my opinion; no one has to agree with it!

No, what I'm trying to get through to you is that "I don't like this" is not the same as "this is bad."

Saying "this band has no staying power" when there are people ITT who still get those records out occasionally, 20 years later, is just a tad of an arrogant thing to say. It's fine for you to not like it. But you don't get to redefine the boundaries of a genre that was established 20 years ago, just to suit your particular tastes.

No, what I'm trying to get through to you is that "I don't like this" is not the same as "this is bad."

Yes it is. When someone says "this is bad", it is implicit that what they are really saying is "I don't like this." All opinions are relative.

Did I miss something? When did Poliopolice try to change everyone's opinion about shoegaze? Is he also the one forcing Slowdive to reunite? Poliopolice, just let shoegaze be!

But seriously he is just talking about his own opinions on shoegaze. As much as I disagree about the horrible things he says about Swervedriver!

Shoegaze isn't really a genre tho

Yes it is. When someone says "this is bad", it is implicit that what they are really saying is "I don't like this." All opinions are relative.

It's like squares and rectangles. All squares are rectangles---not all rectangles are squares.

If you say, "This is bad," then you are always saying, "I don't like this." (Although, I would argue against that.)

However, when you say, "I don't like this," you aren't always saying, "This is bad."

Katy Perry is bad = I don't like Katy Perry.

I don't like Led Zeppelin /= Led Zeppelin is bad.

...I'm just arguing to argue.

droney = good thing, boring = good thing, repetitive = good thing, mindless prettiness = good thing, sexless = good thing, middle class = pretty meaningless thing in relation to music

At this point I would pay good money to see see slowdive play a full reunion set consisting entirely of them arguing about taste and the semantics of not liking things. And I would pay even more if I knew Neil halstead didn't want to do it.

Like

A like is like a like

At this point I would pay good money to see see slowdive play a full reunion set consisting entirely of them arguing about taste and the semantics of not liking things. And I would pay even more if I knew Neil halstead didn't want to do it.

"Hi, we're Slowdive. We really don't want to play this show, so here's Pygmalion in its entirety."

I think you missed a joke somewhere down the line.

> The way I recall it, it was Ride - Ride EP, Lush - Mad Love EP, and Pale Saints - The Comforts of Madness all released in quick succession at the start of 1990 and shown on Snub TV and those bands were often talked about together. The rest came later.

Ride and Pale Saints played together (along with Teenage Fanclub and Pastels) at ULU (17 nov '89) just before those first eps and toured together afterwards (i think) to the point where ride covered Sight Of You on their first peel session (feb 1990)

but this:

"Also Spoonfed Hybrid >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mojave 3."

is a pile of wrong 8)

No, what I'm trying to get through to you is that "I don't like this" is not the same as "this is bad."

I don't disagree with you-- and honestly i'm finding it a little perplexing that you think i'm trying to tag all the wikipedia articles for Pale Saints and Swervedriver with the category "Objectively Bad Artists from the 90s." it's just an opinion; you are free to disagree, just as all people are free to disagree about anything. i'm fine with admitting that my opinion on anything is not the be-all-end-all, and that i may have wrongly maligned Chapterhouse. :)

Nevertheless, I think it's only fair to point out that your line of argument would also hold that guys like Thomas Kinkade are good artists-- it's just that people who don't like Kinkade don't like that kind of art. I'm actually quite fine with this; I consider art completely subjective. Even if 100% people think it's terrible, it's still subjective to me because there's no objective way to measure artistic quality. I've actually had people try to convince me that Thomas Kinkade is objectively bad; i find this proposition ridiculous.

"you're not allowed not to reform" lol call the whaaammbulance

This is all very entertaining. I might have to listen to some of these records again later. As someone who always thought there was little interesting about Slowdive after Alison and She Calls, I really should listen again to Pygmalion. Is there any substance to the reforming thing, or are you all just winding each other up? I forget.

Chapterhouse were bad bad, though, yeah?

pygmalion is incredible. "rutti" is the best opening track on any album EVER

I know Pygmalion gets most of the hipster love but for me the second album is the one.

Interesting. I don't remember any of it being as stunning as those first magnificent EPs. I shall listen again.

Hipsters don't tend to know what a Slowdive is at all in my experience.

All three are great albums, and they are all very different from each other.

Yes, Rutti is lovely and sounds a lot like "Laughing Stock" TT.

Chapterhouse were bad bad, though, yeah?

― kraudive, Friday, August 31, 2012 3:27 PM (3 hours ago)

No "Whirlpool" is great!

Ride and Pale Saints played together (along with Teenage Fanclub and Pastels) at ULU (17 nov '89)

There's a pic from this gig in the booklet of Deep Fried Fanclub and I frequently used to cry myself to sleep in the late 90s that I was born 5 years too late.

That does sound incredible. I saw Ride touring Going Blank Again in 91 - it was my first proper gig. Looking back they weren't so great. I thought for a long time Ride didn't ever really cut it live but I've read so many people say different that I guess I must have caught them on an off night.

I never saw Slowdive and demand they come back NOW to show me how good they were.

Oh God Avalyn I & II are so great.

I think I wrote on another thread that Avalyn II sounds very, very good on the wrong speed - 33 instead of at 45.

I don't remember any of it being as stunning as those first magnificent EPs.

the early stuff, though i like it, sometimes gets really close to being borderline new-agey

I saw Ride touring Going Blank Again in 91

Must have been 92 (or not Going Blank Again)

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1013169_636582649685551_2058742074_n.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZhygqZr2MA

My favourite of the unreleased stuff.

will we remember this in the near future as the first step towards Slowdive's return? Anyway great stuff from Neil, didn't expect it from him at this stage

http://www.spin.com/articles/black-hearted-brother-i-dont-mean-to-wonder-stream/

no interest, really?

you know what these lot are like

I'd be plenty interested in a Slowdive reunion but I don't necessarily think this presages it

i quite like it, though i probably need to spend more time with it. some of the production choices seem a little odd.

It's really nice to hear THAT sound in a new context, I'll certainly check it out.

I looked up Rachel and she's got her hands full with a special needs child, unclear if she's doing it as a single mom.

also the whole health problems thing

yeah Rachel seems to have been dealt a pretty difficult hand in life - not sure she could ever get back to touring

I like this band; they are the kind of good, dreamy/hazy-sounding-but-not-in-a-dull-or-half-assed-way music that I cite when my bad-taste-having hipster friends accuse me of backwardness for not liking yellow beach dream or w/etf

this spring I came to appreciate "Country Rain", which I had previously overlooked, via going thru my itunes for songs about rain—it cheered me up so much, I had to get stoned to properly appreciate my own feelings

Looks like Neil and Rachel are doing a couple of shows together:

http://www.creation-records.com/slowdive-members-reunite-for-london-gigs/

Aaand... they're sold out already.

:-/

I love how everyone's screaming about this being a Slowdive 'reunion' of sorts across the web when I'm all "Uh...probably just Mojave 3 songs, guys." Not that I mind those at all!

"(i don't mean to) wonder" sounds way more wall of gaze than any mojave 3 though

I'd be very surprised if they didn't do one or two Slowdive songs.

xp

I'm sure if they pull out "Dagger" people will freak.

I think they were known to do that song outside of Slowdive a fair number of times. Probably easier to play and remember how to play.

: P

I saw Neil solo a couple of months ago and he played Alison and 40 Days

That's honestly good to hear! Took him long enough.

yeah that was a nice surprise - hearing him do 40 days on his own on acoustic guitar confirmed that his path has been one of gradual evolution rather than the tabula rasa Mojave 3 seemed at the time

didn't get a ticket. hope there's someone yelling PLAY TRELLISAZE the whole time

Neil on FB
"Am very pleased to say my dear old mate Rachel Goswell will be joining me for a few songs in London at Cecil sharpe house in a few weeks . This is NOT a Slowdive reunion !! seem to be few posts on the Internet suggesting it is ... Not sure why ...ok then .. x"

Well of course they played Slowdive songs, two of them in fact. Have to say though, Rachel looks a bit uncomfortable in these clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN_MQs3CNrw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56WxxC-Z3DM

http://i.imgur.com/Sx4cwoj.jpg

you don't say...

Alison would be my POO for Slowdive.

Rachel looks likes she wants to be anywhere but there. I guess a Slowdive reunion is not to be expected

The acoustic Alisons Halstead does are lovely.

So having contributed to this thread once or twice over many years... I wrote something about Slowdive on my blog. You might be interested, or you might not be.

http://agoldfishcalledregret.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/november-music-2/

I've never bothered to listen to Pygmalion but am tempted to after reading your blog

Yeah, that was great, Rob

Thank you! I think Pygmalion is under-rated - its not generally known as being in a slightly different style to their other albums, so tends to be ignored. I hope in a small way I can change a few people's opinions and show them how good it is.

I didn't know he looked so much like Badly Drawn Boy in person...

slightly different style to their other albums

no, it's *very* different. like the work of an entirely different band than the one that did Souvlaki.

also it's hardly ignored, it seems to be the one that gets the most attention/repeat play these days

It has always been my favourite and I know there are a decent number of people who agree, including Neil Halstead. I think everyone loves "Blue Skied An Clear" and "Crazy For You".

Agree that Pygmalion is not necessarily ignored, however it has a tendency to be left out of the equation when Slowdive is discussed within the context of 'shoegaze'. Which is unsurprising, considering it's not a 'shoegaze' album. It is great. I love 'Souvlaki' as well, though..

so...

http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/01/slowdive-hint-at-reunion/

Hey Rob, I really enjoyed your writing on Slowdive. I also bought Pygmalion and Ask Me Tomorrow at the same time and I couldn't agree more with your feelings and thoughts on both records. Reminds me that I need to find an original copy of Pygmalion.

Wow just realized the Pygmalion reissue had a dozen bonus tracks. How come I didn't know this??

The vinyl reissue has bonus tracks?? Anyone know if this makes it worthwhile to get instead of an original?

one time I found an entire album of supposed Slowdive songs recorded for an unrealized album. The title was something involving an "Elephant"? And also I found something that was supposedly their cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine". Was never able to confirm that these were actually Slowdive, though they sounded consistent with their stuff, though stripped down more than most of "Souvlaki."

yeah there's a huge bunch of Souvlaki era demos that can be easily found on the web.
re. Pygmalion reissue - not sure the bonus stuff appears on the vinyl edition, it's on the second disc of the CD version

Yeah, doesn't look like the vinyl reissue has bonus tracks.

The Pygmalion Demos (as noted, on the second disc included with the CD reissue on Cherry Red) are really good! There is some overlap with Pygmalion, but at least half of it is other material... I listen to it a lot!

can't find the 2CD reissue anywhere on Amazon - might just get the thing on iTunes

http://www.amazon.com/Pygmalion-Slowdive/dp/B003UN58WO/

Aha thanks. So it's a US only thing then?

nah, it's on Cherry Red, so it's an import in the US... if you're in the UK it should be pretty easy to find?

yeah, i just added it to my wishlist on the us amazon, it's listed under "audio cd import (2010)"

i love those demos/outtakes, i get more of a feel of the transition btwn souvalki and pygmalion. and there's one or two with eno, right? is the sound cleaned up much? i don't have a problem with the murkiness of the leaked stuff of yore.

ok, just realized that it is easily available on Amazon UK - must have used a wrong search term. Excited!

I Am The Elephant You Are The Mouse is a soundtrack.
I Saw The Sun is a bootleg of a scrapped album before Souvlaki.
There is a bunch more stuff like "Beach Song", "Take Me Down", "Sleep" (dont think these were on the reissues?) and a few more.

If Pygmalion Demos got added to Pygmalion then those other unreleased/rare things could have their own release. I'm sure the band wanted them released.

Getting closer... http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/
So what's it gonna be? Reunion tour or new music?

Is it too much to ask for both..?

I'd much rather have the former and not the latter.

Going back a post or two on unreleased songs- "Beach song" was on a flexi issued by Sunday Records with another song whose name escapes me. They were part of Slowdive's initial demo tape, alongside "Slowdive" and "Avalyn". Alan McGee preferred the slower stuff so they stuck to that direction. "Sleep" and "Take me down" were by Eternal, a five piece band on Sarah Records who split up after one EP when their guitarist Christian left them to join Slowdive.

Just realised I'm wrong - "Take me down" was on the Sunday flexi. A different song of the same name was on the Eternal single.

Thought that rang a bell so had a look through my 7"s and hey presto

http://i.imgur.com/KgyLobKl.jpg?1

No idea where I got it.

That looks familiar - mine is in my attic. Sunday Records were great, got loads of their singles at the time.

when did it come out?

1992

i have that slowdive flexi somewhere, it's good stuff

I'm very conflicted over the idea of new material. For a long time Halstead seemed like he had lost almost all interest in his older style, but maybe after long enough the urge for this sort of stuff could come back?
How could anyone really know if they could tap back into it, as good (or better) than it was?

Does anyone know of any bands who got back together to write some music and said "this really isnt working, we better split up again" before they recorded anything?

Does anyone know the name of that old Slowdive demo that was just cheery whistling and piano?

The Associates did just that, recorded some stuff and bailed wihout releasing it at the time, though it came out on an odds and sods comp a decade later. And it was pretty good!

Well I don't think they'd tease out this big announcement just to say they were considering giving it a go in Neil's garage and see what came out of it. I'm expecting a mini tour and a few festivals. Not much more

Is Neil's record label Shady Lane still going?

Okay, formal word starting to emerge

http://thequietus.com/articles/14357-slowdive-reunion-primavera-new-material

http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/

I'm excited about new material if they follow through on that. Really hope it has the spark.

Also playing London Village Underground on 19 May.

And interviewed.

I really don't remember that bad of a press kicking but I can't say I read everything then...

I remember well the press kicking when SOuvlaki came out...
Anyway, I am fucking thrilled by this - concerts are nice but new music is what I'm excited about. I have an irrational feeling these guys could still deliver.

I'm still excited.

I always thought that if they ever regrouped that they wouldnt bother with Pygmalion because it was thought of as a Neil album. Very happy to see that is not the case.

FACT mix:

http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/10/fact-mix-430-slowdive/

Okay so, they're playing FYF Fest in August in LA

https://twitter.com/FYFFEST/status/467354663285571584/photo/1

Ergo...American tour?

Was just listening to Pygmalion the other night. After a few years of having it in my collection and not really rating it that much it finally clicked in a big way.

oh wow, i have seen Slowdive like eight times and would love to see them again. Mojave 3 like five times. what news, thanks Ned as i will have to see this show.

And they're back indeed, from tonight in London:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlZM2JwVtiE

Try that again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlZM2JwVtiE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6IQnMWRSew

And a setlist here: https://www.facebook.com/DecayFM/photos/a.384279701582515.100712.369708673039618/808147132529101/?type=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbHpDRYw56M

Blue Skied An' Clear. So good.

Friends went and have been raving on Facebook

(Was a secret gig ahead of tonight's(?) official comeback gig)

They will also be playing in Germany next month at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig.

and primavera (sp?) in a week or so.

Entire show...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8668KWHeSeI

i read that Rachel Goswell is partially deaf.

does it mean the sound of the shows will be relatively quiet?

sounding great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsn9oQvZGhI

Haha, so Slowdive are now posting their various pedal boards! They've started with Rachel's

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10257041_10152506345687754_4471334917264928557_n.jpg

All pedals coming from Joe's Pedals: joespedals.com

amazingly detailed breakdowns of their boards (including illustrations) from their prime:

http://www.guitargeek.com/neil-halstead-slowdive-1993-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/
http://www.guitargeek.com/rachel-goswell-slowdive-1993-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/
http://www.guitargeek.com/christian-savill-slowdive-1993-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-diagram/

Rachel's has gotten more complex, I see.

And a new promo photo

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BpX9OQIIcAAkSvR.png

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BpX9OQIIcAAkSvR.png

Neil looks like a psychotic killer

"North America was good to Slowdive back in the 1990s," the band said in a press release. "The fact that the last Slowdive concert was performed in Toronto (at Lee's Palace) in 1994 is poignant. It felt like we were playing to people who 'got it' and some of our favourite performances were on those tours. We have a special connection to our audience in North America and we can't wait to return in 2014!"

Slowdive:

07-16 Padova, Italy - Radar Festival
07-18 Suffolk, England - Latitude Festival
07-20 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07-23 Taipei, Taiwan - The Wall
07-25 Niigata Prefecture, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
07-26 Shanghai, China - Qianshuiwan Culture and Arts Center
07-28 Hong Kong - Rotunda 3
07-31 Singapore - The Ground Theatre
08-03 Katowice, Poland - Off Festival
08-07-09 Göteborg, Sweden - Way Out West
08-08-10 Helsinki, Finland - Flow Festival
08-09 Oslo, Norway - Oya
08-14 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
08-15 St. Malo, France - La Route du Rock Festival
08-23 Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest
08-29-31 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09-09 Geneva, Switzerland - La Batie
10-22 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-23 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
10-25 New York, NY - Terminal 5
10-26 Boston, MA - Royale
10-27 Montreal, Quebec - Le National
10-28 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
10-30 Chicago, IL - The Vic
10-31 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
11-03 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore
11-04 Seattle, WA - Neptune
11-05 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
11-07 San Francisco, CA - Warfield
11-08 Los Angeles, CA - The Theatre at Ace Hotel

wow what a great tour, hope they do a similarly extensive tour of Europe next year.

yeah, as much as I'd like to see them, festivals are not my thing

They seem to be bigger in the US than UK. Hard to imagine them playing a venue as big as Terminal 5 (3,000 capacity) on a UK tour.

Doesn't seem that outrageous, they played 2 shows on 2 consecutive nights in London, 450 and 1000 capacity, sold them both out pretty much instantly iirc. At least irc that I couldn't get a ticket to either of them.